Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Collapses After Being Shot At Campaign Event

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Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in heart failure after being shot during a campaign speech. He was taken to the hospital bleeding and unconscious after collapsing.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in heart failure after being shot during a campaign event on Friday in western Japan.

“Former Prime Minister Abe was shot at around 11:30 am in Nara. One man, believed to be the shooter, has been taken into custody. The condition of former prime minister Abe is currently unknown,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

An NHK reporter on the scene said they could hear two consecutive bangs during Abe’s speech.

Abe, 67, collapsed and was bleeding from the neck, a source from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party said.

NHK footage showed Abe collapsed on the street, surrounded by several security guards. He was holding his chest when he collapsed, with his shirt smeared with blood.

“He was giving a speech and a man came from behind,” a woman at the scene told NHK.

“The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she added.

NHK and Kyodo both reported Abe was taken to hospital and appeared to be in cardo-respiratory arrest. It was not immediately clear how serious his injuries were or if he was still displaying vital signs.

Media reports said he might have been shot from behind with a shotgun.

Abe, grandson of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He was in office for a year in 2006 and then from 2012 to 2020